Record Stock Prices Ignore Real Drop in Profits

Few observers took note of the most important aspect of the revised U.S. gross domestic product data reported last week: that corporate profits plunged in the first quarter.

Viewed through the narrow lens of the earnings reports of the Standard & Poor's 500 companies, the first-quarter results "are generally being considered a success -- given that they did not fall apart," according to S&P's Howard Silverblatt.